Container bodymaker



Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINER BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 9. 1966 B3 [7208721 0 r:- C/zarles JC/Lefiukar Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINER BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet a (hark? C/zebuhafi Filed Nov. 9, 1966 Aug. 26, 1969 c. .1. CHEBUHAR 3,463,960

conmmrm BODYMAKER Filed Nov. 9, 1966 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 lfizaerzor f [bar/a5 J UzebLz/zaf, 2511M x mwy g- 25, 1959 c. J. CHEBUHAR I 3,463,060

CONTAINER BODYMAKEB Filed Nov. 9. 1966 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 llll Z57 Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINER BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 9, 1965 IIIII C. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINER BODYMAKER Aug. 26, 1969 Filed Nov. 9. 1966 4; Sheet s'-Sheet 6 jnlleni 1':- C/zarleaIC/eebukar Q 9 RWV 8 k? .H a mw\%v w fi MW i RR 3w ANN 26, 9 c. J. CHEBUHAR 3,463,060

CONTAINER BODYMAKER Filed Nov. 9. 1966 n Sheets-Sheet v 1Z5 g r 15 114 fnvenzf Charles JC/zefiufiav", @MfW Wv- Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR comuman BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Nov. 9. 1966 6, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR 3,4

CONTAINER BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Nov. 9, 1966 Charis-5L] C/zebzzhar.

Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINFIR BODYMAKER 11 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Nov. 9. 1966 [/zzzrlea J Uzebzz/za 1:

Aug. 26, 1969 c. J. CHEBUHAR CONTAINER BODYMAKER 11 sheets sheet 11 Filed Nov. 9, 1966 United States Patent Ofl ice 3,463,060 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 US. Cl. 93-79 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for fabricating container bodies of truncated cone shape from blanks of flexible sheet material which comprises an elongate cylindrical forming horn fixed in horizontal position on a supporting frame, means for feeding successive blanks to the entrance end of the horn from a supply magazine through a preliminary edge folding mechanism, an overhead conveyor having a run thereof traveling in a path immediately above the top surface and parallel with the long axis of the horn, blank pushing blocks carried on the conveyor which have a concave face confrontin the top surface of the horn and a means for folding the blanks against the face thereof with the side margins depending along the sides of the horn while advancing the blanks along the horn, a heater for activating an adhesive on the seam forming margins of the blanks past which the blanks are moved, folders for overlapping the blank margins and seam sealers which press the seam forming areas against the bottom face of the horn. The machine includes stripper means at the discharge end of the horn and an arrangement for upending and discharging the completed body members.

This invention relates to container making and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a method and apparatus for fabricatin from blanks of flexible sheet material body members which are adapted to be used in the manufacture of containers.

Machines have heretofore been developed for forming from rectangular sheets of flexible material tubular container bodies by shaping the sheets around a forming mandrel or horn while advancing the same at high speeds, overlapping and sealing margins of each sheet to form a seam, and stripping the tubular body member thus formed from the mandrel. One such machine is described in copending application Ser. No. 430,871, filed Feb. 8, 1965, by Justin Simpson, Charles I. Chebuhar and Ernest H. Reiher now Patent No. 3,338,142, issued Aug. 29, 1967. This machine is characterized by an elongate cylindrical forming mandrel to which generally rectangular blanks are advanced from a supply magazine past an initial device for preliminarily shaping a seam forming margin thereof and picked up for advance along the mandrel by lugs on an endless traveling conveyor, the lugs being shaped to impart an initial curvature to each successive blank and also to move the blanks along the mandrel while the side margins of the blank are heated and the blanks are folded to conform to the shape of the mandrel by a series of forming rolls which progressively force each successive blank into tubular shape about the mandrel, with the seam forming margins of each blank being moved into tight overlapping engagement with each other throughout the length of the lapped area, and pressure being applied to the overlapped margins after which the endless tube thus formed is removed from the mandrel and passed through a reforming device for shaping the tube and removing the distortion resulting from the folding, heating and seam forming operation. The present invention is embodied in a modification of this machine to adapt the same to the forming of open ended body members having tapered side walls which result in a truncated cone shape, the body members being particularly adapted to form the body of a cup-shaped container which is finished by applying to the smaller end of the body member thus formed a bottom forming panel and curling or shaping the edge of the larger end so as to provide a stiffening bead or lip formation thereon.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a method and a machine for fabricating container bodies from flat blanks of flexible sheet material having a generally truncated triangular shape by foldin successive blanks about an elongate cylindrical forming horn with the successive blanks being advanced along the horn at a relatively high speed by a co-operating overhead conveyor having lug forming, blank engaging blocks thereon with the outboard faces thereof shaped to correspond to a portion of the side wall desired for the body and arranged so as to travel along the mandrel with seam forming marginal portions of the blank being brought into parallel relation with the longitudinal axis of the mandrel so as to be overlapped and pressed into seam forming relation against the mandrel surface as they are advanced along the same.

It is a further object of the invention to provide in a container body fabricating machine of the type described a cylindrical forming mandrel and a co-operating overhead conveyor having forming blocks thereon which engage the blanks and the outboard faces of which are concave and disposed in inclined relation to the surface of the forming mandrel so as to partially shape the blanks and to co-operate with the mandrel in finally shaping the blanks into open ended truncated cone formation as the blanks are advanced along the mandrel.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a body fabricating machine of the type described an elongate tubular mandrel and a co-operating blank conveyor having blank advancing blocks thereon with outboard faces which front the mandrel surface as the blanks are advanced along the same and which are concave and inclined relative to the axis of the mandrel in the direction of advance of the blanks so that the blanks may be shaped in part on the concave faces of the blocks and subsequently formed into a truncated cone as they are advanced along the mandrel and the margins are overlapped and adhered so as to provide an open ended body member with one end thereof of greater diameter than the other end.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a body fabricating machine of the type described an elongate cylindrical forming mandrel and a co-operating overhead blank advancing conveyor having blank engaging blocks thereon with concave outboard faces which are inclined outwardly relative to the axis of the mandrel in the direction of advance of the blanks when the blocks move along the mandrel and associated blank engaging members for seating the blanks in the concave faces of the blocks and for guiding the seam forming margins thereof past heating members which actuate an adhesive thereon, after which the blanks are advanced to seam forming and pressing rollers which hold the margins against the bottom face of the mandrel with sufiicient pressure to form the seam.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the method and apparatus which are shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a container body making machine which incorporates therein the principal features of the invention, portions of the machine being omitted and other portions being broken away;

FIGURES 2A and 2B constitute a side elevation of the machine, to a larger scale and with portions thereof broken away or omitted;

FIGURES 3A and 3B constitute a vertical section taken on the lines 33 of FIGURE 1, to a larger scale and with portions broken away or omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2A to an enlarged scale and with portions broken away;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 2A to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 2A to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 1 to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 8- 8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary view showing to a large scale a portion of the mechanism of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1010 of FIGURE 2A;

FIGURE 11 is a cross section taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 2B to a larger scale;

FIGURE 12 is a cross section taken on the line 1212 of FIGURE 3B to a larger scale;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary view taken on the line 13-13 of FIGURE 11;

FIGURE 14 is a schematic view illustrating the folding of the seam forming margins of the blank about the horn;

FIGURE 15 is a partial longitudinal section taken on the line 1515 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 16 is a partial longitudinal section taken on the line 1616 of FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 17 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the seam forming mechanism;

FIGURE 18 is a view similar to FIGURE 17, with the elements in a different position;

FIGURE 19 is a cross section taken on the line 1919 of FIGURE 17;

FIGURE 20 is a cross section taken on the line 2020 of FIGURE 18;

FIGURE 21 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line 21-21 of FIGURE 17; and

FIGURE 22 is a schematic view illustrating the various operations carried out on the blank as it progresses through the machine and is formed into a cup body.

Referring first to FIGURE 22, there is illustrated the successive operations performed by the present machine in fabricating a truncated, cone-shaped, open ended cup body from blanks B of paperboard, the successive blanks being shaped into truncated cone form and provided with a longitudinal seam derived by overlapping marginal portions of the blank and heat sealing or otherwise securing, as by an adhesive or the like, the overlapped margins into seam formation.

The blanks B, as illustrated, are formed preferably from sheets of relatively thin, flexible paperboard or relatively heavy paper stock which is coated on both sides with a film forming material having heat scalable properties, for example, polyethylene. The edges of the blank are also coated to prevent wicking and the body sections, when completed, are each designed to be subsequently formed into a cup by applying a bottom closure at the smaller end and curling or otherwise treating the margin or edge portion of the larger end to reinforce the same. The invention is not limited to fabrication of a paper cup. It is equally applicable to the formation of body members for other purposes which may be made from relatively thin flexible sheets of tinplate, aluminum, composite metal foil, laminated plastics, plastics or other similar material. Also, it will be understood that the lapped seam S may be made with the addition of adhesiv or by activating previously applied materials on the body blank through the application of heat and/ or pressure.

The machine of the present invention is basically the same as the can body machine illustrated and described in application Ser. No. 430,871. Since the machine is to a large extent a duplication of the machine disclosed in Ser. No. 430,871, that application may be resorted to for a description of the parts which are not hereinafter described in detail.

Briefly the machine comprises, as shown in FIGURES 1 to 4, an upright supporting frame or base 10 on the top 11 of which various mechanisms for operating on the blanks B to form the cup bodies T are mounted, with the base 10 forming a housing for portions of the drive mechanism. The blanks B are supplied from a stack disposed in a vertically extending magazine 12 at the entrance end of the machine. The blank supply magazine 12 extends above a subframe 13 which houses the blank feeding mechanism 15, the latter forwarding the blanks in a horizontal path to a shaping mechanism indicated at 16 which preliminarily shaped the marginal side edge of each blank. The blanks are advanced by conveyor 17 through the preliminary shaping mechanism 16 and past a glue applying device indicated at 18 to a longitudinally disposed forming horn or mandrel 20. The elongate horn 20 extends horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the machine and is aligned with the conveyor 17. An overhead endless conveyor 21 is mounted above the horn 20 with its lower run extending longitudinally of the machine immediately above the horn 20 which carries thereon longitudinally spaced forming block assemblies 22 on which portions of the blanks are preliminarily shaped, the balance of the shaping being performed by folding the side edges of the blank into overlapping seam forming relation against the bottom surface of the horn 20. Each forming block assembly 22 (FIGURE 8) carries at its trailing end a pusher member 24 having a plurality of spaced fingers 24 for engaging the trailing edge of the blank and pushing it along the born 20 which has longitudinal grooves 20' for accommodating the pusher fingers 24'. The blanks are advanced past a pair of heating members at 25 (FIGURE 10) where the adhesive material on the side margins of the blank is activated so as to form a seal with the seam forming margins being subsequently overlapped. As the blanks are advanced along the horn 20 by the conveyor 21, the side marginal portions of these blanks are progressively folded beneath the horn 20 by two groups of folding or forming rolls indicated at 26 and 27. The body thus formed around the horn 20 has the overlapped side margins which are adapted to form the longitudinal seam still out of engagement with each other as the blank is advanced to a pressure applying mechanism 28 which completes the seam by moving the lap forming side margins against each other, the lowermost lap being lifted while it is substantially parallel with the uppermost lap, and pressed against the bottom of the forming rollers 23 in the horn 20. The completely formed body member is stripped from the horn 20 after pressure is applied to the lapped portions and then delivered out of the machine by a discharge conveyor 31, the latter having associated with it a device for upending the finished bodies so as to deliver them in side-by-side relation.

The blank supply magazine 12 at the entrance end of the machine may be constructed as shown in Ser. No. 430,871 so as to receive a stack of the blanks B with an associated extractor lever 37 (FIGURE 3A) which feeds a single blank from the bottom of the stack when the lever 37 is reciprocated by connecting rod 40. The connecting rod 40 is operated by crank 41 mounted on a cross drive shaft 42. The blanks are fed by extractor lever 37 to a pair of forwarding rollers 45 and 46 which are mounted on parallel, transverse driven shafts 47 and 48 journaled in bearing units 50 and 50' in the side members of subframe 13. The blank feed 15 includes a control mechanism for start or stop feeding of the blanks as dictated by an electrical control system Without interrupting the operation of the machine, the details of the control mechanism and also the magazine 12 and extractor lever 37 being described in application Ser. No. 430,871.

As each blank B is advanced horizontally from the magazine 12 by the rolls 45 and 46 it is picked up by the conveyor 17 (FIGURES 3A and 4) which comprises a pair of laterally spaced endless chains 60 having longitudinally spaced lugs or pusher fingers 61 which engage the trailing edges of the successive blanks as they pass between the feed rolls 45 and 46. The conveyor chains 60 are supported on sprockets 62 at the trailing end thereof and sprockets 62' at the leading end, with the sprockets 62 and 62' carried on cross shafts 63 and 63' which are journaled in appropriate bearing supports, with proper tensioning means arranged in a conventional manner. The conveyor 17 extends to a point beneath the trailing end of an overhead conveyor 21 where movement of the blank is taken over by the overhead conveyor and the blank is thereafter advanced onto the forming horn 20. As the blank is advanced by the conveyor 17 it is held against lateral and vertical movement by suitable guide members, with an appropriate arrangement for stopping the machine in the event of a jam up or when superposed blanks are fed, as described in Ser. No. 43 0,871.

Two pairs of preforming rolls (FIGURES 5 and 6) 74, 75 and 76, 77 are mounted along the conveyor 17 which bend or shape the one side marginal portion of each blank which subsequently forms the inside lap of the longitudinal seam S so that it has approximately the contour of the forming horn 20 and will stay clear of the outside lap when it is folded beneath the seam as the blank advances along the horn. The marginal portions of the op posite side of the blank constitute the outside lap when the folding of the blank is completed. The two sets of preform rolls 74, 75 and 76, 77 have complementary spiral ribs as shown which engage between them the marginal portions of the blank and curve the same as it is moved between the ribs by the conveyor 17. The first set of preform rolls 74 and 75 are mounted on horizontally disposed, parallel stub shafts 78 and 79 which are journaled in a bearing unit 80 secured on the side frame plate of the subframe 13 and which carry at their outer ends co-operating interengaging gears 81 and 82 (FIGURES 2A and which are driven by gear 83 on transverse drive shaft 84. A pair of co-operating blank gripper rolls 85, 86 are mounted opposite preform rollers 74 and 75 on stub shafts 87 and 88 which are axially aligned with the shafts 78 and 79, and are journaled in suitable bearing units with connecting gears 90 and 91 at their outer ends which are driven by gear 92 on the end of the cross drive shaft 84. The preform rolls 76, 77 (FIGURE 6) are mounted on the inner ends of stub shafts 93 and 94 which are journaled in suitable bearings in the bearing unit 80 with interengaging gears 95 and 96 (FIGURES 2A and 5) at their outer ends and with gear 96 driven by gear 83 on cross shaft 84. Gripper rolls 97, 98 at the other side of the machine are mounted on stub shafts 99 and 100 which are in axial alignment with shafts 93 and 94 and driven in like manner by gear 92 on cross shaft 84. The one stub shaft 88 carries a sprocket 101 which is connected by a drive chain 102 with a sprocket 103 (FIG- URE 4) at the extended end of the lowermost shaft 48 carrying the blank feed roll 46. The roll shafts 47 and 48 are connected in driving relation at their opposite ends by interengaging gears 104.

Succesive blanks are advanced past the preform rolls 76, 77 by the lugs on the conveyor 17 to the adhesive applying mechanism 18, when the blanks which are employed require the application of adhesive for the longitudinal seal. The adhesive mechanism 18 may be the same as described in Ser. No. 430,871, with appropriate modification so as to supply the adhesive along the tapered edge of the blank B. The mechanism 18 is not employed on the machine when the blanks are supplied with a pre-applied type of activatable adhesive or the blanks have a plastic coating where the plastic serves as an adhesive to form the seal upon being activated by heat and the application of pressure to the seam forming surfaces.

Each successive blank is picked up at the forward end of the conveyor 17 by the overhead conveyor 21 and thereafter advanced along the forming horn 20. The overhead conveyor 21 (FIGURES 1, 2A, 2B and 4) is mounted on frame 105 which is upstanding from the top 11 of the bace 10 and supported on opposite ends on the upstanding post forming inverted J-shaped bracket members 106 and 107. The conveyor 21 comprises a double chain 108 mounted on end sprockets 110 and 111 which are supported on horizontal cross shafts 112 and 113 journaled in suitable bearings in the ends of elongate frame 105. The chain 108 has pairs of inboard and outboard rollers 114 and 115 (FIGURES 3A, 7, 8 and 9) mounted on pivot pins 115 connected to link plates. Inboard rollers 114 ride on center guide bars 116 and 116 extending longitudinally on the top and bottom of frame 105. The outboard rollers 115 ride on side guide bars 117 and 117 which are mounted at the bottom of bottom side rails 118 and 118, which have provision for circulating therein a cooling fluid to cool the frame 105. The blank supporting and forming block assemblies 22 are arranged in spaced relation along the length of the chain 108.

Each of the block assemblies 22 (FIGURES 7, 8 and 9) comprises a base forming support block 120 which is supported on a cross pin 121 extending between depending portions of the link plates 122 on the chain 108. A forming plate 123 is secured on the outboard side of the support block 120 so as to form a concave outboard face or surface 124 which has a semicircular cross section at the trailing end and a generally U-shaped cross section at the leading end. The forming plate 123 is attached to the support block 120 so that the concave face is inclined upwardly and forwardly relative to the top surface of the horn 20 when the block assembly 22 is traveling along the lower run of the conveyor 21 as shown in FIG- URE 7. The blank engaging pusher plate member 24 is attached to a flanged portion at the trailing end of the forming plate 123 and has a plurality of spaced finger formations 24' which are adapted to engage the trailing end of the blank and advance it along the born 20. The trailing end of block assembly 22 is urged toward the top surface of the horn 20 by a compression spring 125 (FIGURE 9) seated in a socket 125' in the support block 120 on the trailing side of the pin 121 and engaging a cross member of the link assembly 122. The compression spring 125 may be omitted in an embodiment in which the block 120 does not pivot on the pin 121. A semi-circular clamp bar or plate 126 having a curvature conforming to the top marginal portion of the leading end of the forming plate 123 is carried on the bottom end of lever arm 127 which is pivoted at 128 on the link pivot pin 115' which is adjacent the leading edge of the plate 123. The upper end of lever 127 is rounded at 127' so as to co-operate with longitudinally extending cam bars as hereinafter described. A tension spring 129 extends between the clamp plate 126 and the trailing pivot pin 115 on the chain so as to normally hold the clamp plate 126 in position to clamp the top portion of a blank against the surface 124 at the leading end of the plate 123. A cam bar indicated at 130 at the entrance end of the conveyor 21 is arranged in the path of the top portion of the lever 127 which moves the clamp plate 126 to an open position and holds it there while the blank is seated against the face 124 of the forming plate 123.

As the chain 108 rounds the sprocket 110 the path of the blank supporting block assembly 22 is somewhat above the top surface of the horn 20. Inclined side guide extensions 131 and 131' are mounted on the frame 105 which form an inclined track for the outboard rollers 115 to guide the chain 108 downwardly to bring the '7 trailing end portion of the forming plate 123 of each assembly to approximately blank thickness from the top surface of the horn 20 and the outboard rollers 115 onto the bottom guides 117 and 117.

As the blank is picked up by the fingers 24' on the pusher plate 24 the longitudinal center portion of the blank is bent toward the concave surface 124 of the forming plate 123. This is accomplished by a special mechanism which includes side guide plates 132 of generally triangular shape depending at the ends of the top of the subframe 13 along the sides of the path of advance of the blanks. The plates 132 have the bottom edge thereof, which is engaged by the side portions of the blank, inclined downwardly and forwardly along the sides of the horn 20. The plates 132 terminate at their forward ends and slightly overlap the rear portions of upstanding parallel side guide plates 133. The side guide plates 133 are mounted on bracket members 134 which extend laterally of a center support frame or bracket 135 which is disposed on the top 11 of the base and on which there is rotatably mounted for movement in a vertical path a generally rectangular folding plate 136. The plate 136 has a pin and slot connection at 137 with a hub forming member 138 which is mounted on a cross shaft 138'. The pin and slot connection 137 permits a limited amount of movement of the plate 136 relative to the hub 138 in a radial direction and the plate is urged outwardly by a pair of compression springs 139 seated in suitable sockets 140 in the plate and abutting against a portion of the hub 138. The cross shaft 138 is rotated by a gear train connection indicated at 141 with a driven cross shaft 142 journaled in the supporting bracket 135 on the base frame 10. The arm-like forming or folding plate 136 is rotated in timed relation to the advance of the conveyor 21 so as to lift the center portion of each blank into engagement with the surface 124 of the forming plate 123 while the clamp bar 126 is held in open position and subsequently allowed to close on the leading edge of the blank so as to hold it in the position where the downwardly facing side edges of the blank extend longitudinally of and are generally parallel with the bottom face of the horn 20.

The horn is supported at the entrance end thereof on an upstanding support post 144 which is arranged to allow for expansion of the horn due to temperature changes. The horn 20 includes longitudinally extending water accommodating chambers having appropriate connections with a cold water supply line so as to circulate water or other cooling liquids throughout the length of the horn and control the temperature thereof.

As the blank is moved onto the born 20 by a pusher plate 24 on the conveyor 21 it is moved past the heating mechanism (FIGURE 10) which comprises a pair of heating devices 145 and 145 which are mounted on upstanding brackets 146 and 146' on the top 11 of the supporting base 10. The heaters 145 and 145' are preferably gas burner type having the usual ignition electrodes and flame detectors and they are arranged so that heat is applied along the side margins of the blank on the surfaces which are subsequently overlapped to form the longitudinal seam. The burners 145 and 145' are supplied from a suitable gas line through conduits indicated at 147 and 147'. Guide rods 148 and 148' are supported by suitable means on brackets 146 and 146 and extend along the burners 145 and 145 so as to guide the side marginal portions of the blanks and hold the same a uniform distance from the burner flames.

As each blank is advanced beyond the heating devices 145 and 145' the leading edge of the blank contacts the first of the forming rolls in the two sets thereof which are indicated at 2'6 and 27 in FIGURE 2B. The first set of forming rolls 26 comprises two roll assemblies 152 and 152' (FIGURES 11 to 16) which are supported on opposite sides of the horn 20. The forming roll assemblies 152 and 152' are of similar construction, being rights and lefts with the left assembly in the direction of advance of the blank being of somewhat greater length and having an additional roll. The right roll assembly 152 comprises four rolls 153, 154, 155 and 156 which have peripheral surfaces of truncated cone shape providing beveled blank contacting edges. The rolls are mounted on a supporting top plate 158 as shown in FIGURES 11 and 13 so that the tapered edge surfaces of the rolls progressively hold the side edges of the blank down around the one side and towards the bottom of the born as shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 14. The opposite roll assembly 152 has like rolls indicated by the same numerals primed and on additional forming roll 157. The supporting plate 158 constitutes a longitudinally disposed top member of a support bracket 160 which has a base plate 161 slidably mounted on a track formation 162 on top of the support bracket 163 which is upstanding from the top 11 of the base frame 10. A U-shaped clamp 164 has its legs pivoted at 165 to the stand 163 and has a manually operable clamp screw 166 in the cross member thereof for clamping the bracket 160 in proper position relative to the horn 20.

The second set of forming rolls 27 is arranged as shown in FIGURES 12, 15 and 16 with two roll assemblies 170 and 170', one on each side of the horn 20. The two roll assemblies 170 and 170' are of similar construction, being rights and lefts except for the number of rolls, the assembly 170 having one more roll than assembly 17 0'. The assembly 170 comprises forming rolls 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177 and 178 each having a generally concave peripheral surface and each having a slightly different surface configuration so as to progressively fold the blank side margins toward overlapping relation around the bottom of the horn 20. The forming rolls are mounted in the inclined upper end of an upstanding bracket 180 which has a base plate 181 slidably mounted in the guide formation 182 at one side of an upstanding support bracket 183. A U-shaped clamp member 184 has its legs pivoted at 185 on the bracket 183 and carries a manually operable clamp screw 186 on the cross bar portion thereof for engaging the outside edge of the base plate 181 so as to removably clamp the bracket 180 in position. The roll assembly 170 is mounted in the same manner on the opposite side of the born 20 and similar elements are indicated by the same numerals primed.

The leading end of the forming roll assembly 27 overlaps the pressure applying or seam forming apparatus 28 which extends beneath the horn 20 and which completes the formation of the longitudinal seam. The seam forming apparatus 28 (FIGURES 17 to 20) is mounted on an upright stand 190 on the top 11 of the base frame 10. Three roll segments 191, 192 and 193 are supported on cross shafts 194, 195 and 196 for rotation in slot formation 197 at the top of the frame 190. A fourth whole roll 198 is mounted at the end of the slot 197 on a cross shaft 200. The shafts 194, 195, 196 and 200 carry gears 201, 202, 203 and 204 which are in toothed engagement with gears 205 and 206 mounted below the same on cross shafts 207 and 208. The two gears 207 and 208 are driven by engagement with the drive gear 210 on cross shaft 211 which carries at its outer end a sprocket 212. The sprocket 212 is connected by drive chain 213 (FIGURE 2B) with the sprocket 214 on the cross drive shaft 215. The horn 20 has internal rolls 216 (FIGURES l7 and 20) spaced along the bottom face in the slot 217 which constitutes backup rolls for the pressure rolls and the latter are timed to operate so as to lift the outside lap of the blank along its entire length simultaneously and to engage the entire lap with the inside lap, the two laps being brought together with a parallel motion while the blank moves at a constant velocity through the seam setting station. The three segmental rolls 191, 192 and 193 operate simultaneously to raise the outside lap into contact with the inside lap 9 and to roll the seam with a final seam rolling accomplished by the end roll 198.

The horn 20 carries an axially aligned extension 218 (FIGURES 2B and 17) which is canted upwardly to a slight degree and which is located above an endless belt conveyor 220, the latter being operated at a greater speed than the overhead conveyor 21 so as to accelerate the movement of the completed body member and clear the pusher means 24 on the overhead conveyor as it moves upwardly around the end sprocket 111, the clamp bar 126 being released by engagement of the lever arm 127 with a release cam bar 199 mounted on frame 105 (FIG- URE 2B). The endless belt conveyor 220 is mounted on end support pulleys 221 and 222 with the top run extending to the entrance end of the discharge conveyor 31 where the body members are fed between a pair of laterally spaced belts 240, 240 constituting the discharge conveyor 31. The belts 240 and 240' are supported on vertically disposed rollers 241, 241 and 242, 242' so that the inner runs parallel each other in oppositely disposed spaced relation. The end support rollers 242 and 242 are driven through a conventional belt drive 243 and a right angle gear box 244 from a cross drive shaft 245 which is in turn driven by the chain connection 247 with the cross drive shaft 215. The details of the drive mechanism are fully described in application Ser. No. 430,871 and also an abutment stop arrangement, indicated at 256, for upending the completed body members n the conveyor.

Referring to FIGURES 2A and 2B, the motor 260 constitutes the main drive for the machine. It is supported in a suitable manner in the base and connected with a main drive shaft 261 by a drive belt indicated at 262. The drive shaft 261 furnishes power to the various mechanisms. A sprocket 263 on the shaft 261 is connected by chain 264 with the sprocket 265 on the cross shaft 63 which furnishes power for the blank feeding conveyor 17 at the entrance end of the machine. The shaft 261 carries another sprocket 267 which is connected by the drive chain 268 with sprocket 270 on the cross shaft 271 and sprocket 272 on the cross shaft 273. The cross shaft 273 carries a sprocket 274 which is connected by the chain 275 with the sprocket 276 on the cross shaft 42 for operating the blank feed device. The shaft 271 carries a sprocket 277 which is connected by a chain 278 with a sprocket 280 on the drive shaft 84 for the preforming rolls. The main drive shaft 261 carries a further sprocket 281 which is connected by the chain 282 with a sprocket 283 on the drive shaft 236 and a sprocket 284 on the drive shaft 215. The drive shaft 236 carries a sprocket 285 which is connected by the chain 286 with a sprocket 287 on the cross shaft 123 for driving the overhead conveyor 21. The cross shaft 63' carries a sprocket 288 which is connected by a chain 289 with a sprocket 290 on the cross shaft 142 for driving the folding plate 136.

In operating the machine, a supply of blanks B is positioned in the magazine 12 from the bottom of which they are fed by the reciprocating feed lever 37 and advanced by conveyor 17 past the edge preforming rolls 74, 75 and 76, 77 to the overhead conveyor 21. The successive blanks are picked up by the pusher plates 24 on the forming block assemblies 22 and advanced along the horn 20. The blanks are initially formed to a partially curved condition by engagement with the concave outboard faces 124 on the blocks 22 on the conveyor 21. They are advanced past the heaters 145 and 145' which activate the adhesive on the seam forming surfaces of the blank margins. The forming roll assemblies 26 and 27 turn or fold the side margins of the blanks around the horn 20 as the blanks advance to a seam forming and pressing mechanism 28. The blank margin which forms the inside lap has been preformed so that it does not interfere with the opposite margin during folding. The segmental rolls of the seam forming and pressing mechanism are operated to lift the outside lap throughout the length thereof and to press the same against the inside lap, with the back up rolls 216 in the horn 20 serving to insure adequate pressure is applied to the seam forming areas, and with the relative parallel movement of the lap forming portions of the blank eliminating any tendency of the same to skew or twist out of line. The final pressure roll 198 insures that the entire seam is rolled or pressed as the body member advances. The completed body member is stripped from the horn 20 and advanced ahead of the pushers 24 on the conveyor 21 by the accelerated movement imparted to it by the conveyor 220. The finished body member is upended as it is discharged from the conveyor 220 and delivered from the machine.

While particular materials and specific details of construction are referred to in describing the illustrated method and machine, it will be understood that other materials and equivalent structural details may be resorted to within the spirit of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. An apparatus for forming container bodies of generally truncated cone shape from blanks of relatively thin, flexible sheet material having adhesive on a side marginal portion thereof which is overlapped with the opposite side marginal portion and pressed so as to provide a lap seam, said apparatus comprising an elongate, cylindrical forming horn disposed in a generally horizontal position, a blank supply means adjacent an entrance end of the forming horn, means for feeding successive blanks from the supply means and advancing the same to the entrance end of said forming horn, means for preliminarily bending the side margin of each successive blank to impart thereto a slight curvature, an overhead blank feeding and forming conveyor mounted on end supports disposed adjacent opposite ends of said forming horn with the bottom run of the conveyor traveling in a path immediately above the top surface and generally parallel with the long axis of the forming horn, pusher means on said overhead conveyor for engaging the trailing edge of each successive blank which is advanced to the horn and for pushing said blank along the top surface of said horn at a substantially uniform speed, means on said overhead conveyor adjacent said pusher means for partially forming each successive blank so that it has a downwardly opening, U-shaped cross section with the curved center portion of the leading edge spaced a substantial distance above the surface of said horn and with the side margins of the blank depending along the sides of said horn in generally parallel relation with the longitudinal axis thereof, heating means along the forming horn for activating the adhesive on the blank, means mounted adjacent the opposite sides of the forming horn for progressively folding the side portions of the blank down about the sides of the forming horn and for bringing the side margins into overlapping relation underneath the horn, and means along the forming born for engaging the outermost one of the side margins of the blank and applying pressure thereto so as to bring said side margins into lap seam forming engagement and against the bottom of the horn, which engaging and pressure applying means is operative to engage the outermost side margin at a plurality of longitudinally spaced points and to apply sealing pressure thereto along the length of said outermost side margin whereby said side margins are moved into engagement while they are in substantially parallel relation and advancing along the forming horn at a uniform rate, and the means for preliminarily bending the margin of each blank comprising co-operating rolls having spiral blades with complementary curved surfaces for engaging therebetween the blank side edge margins and imparting a curvature thereto along the length thereof.

2. An apparatus for forming container bodies of generally truncated cone shape from blanks of relatively thin, flexible sheet material having a generally truncated triangle shape and provided with an adhesive on a side marginal portion thereof which is overlapped wtih the opposite side marginal portion and pressed so as to provide a lap seam, said apparatus comprising an elongate, cylindrical forming horn disposed in a generally horizontal position, means for advancing successive blanks to the entrance end of said forming horn, means for preliminarily bending the side margin of each successive blank to impart thereto a slight curvature, an overhead blank advancing and forming conveyor mounted on end supports disposed at opposite ends of said forming horn with the bottom run of the conveyor traveling in a path immediately above the top surface and generally parallel with the long axis of the forming horn, means on said overhead conveyor for engaging the trailing edge of each successive blank and for pushing said blank along said born at a substantially uniform speed, means on said conveyor adjacent said pusher means for partially forming each successive blank so that the center portions of the leading and trailing edges of the blank are spaced unequal distances above the top surface of the forming horn and the side margins of the blank depend along the sides of the forming horn with the lowermost edges generally parallel with the longitudinal axis thereof, means along the forming horn for activating the adhesive on the blank, forming means mounted adjacent the forming horn for progressively folding the side margins of the blank down about the sides of the forming horn and for bringing the side margins into overlapping relation, and means along the forming horn for engaging the outermost side margin of the blank and bringing said side margins into lap seam forming engagement against the bottom of the horn, which margin engaging means is operative to engage the outermost margin at a plurality of longitudinally spaced points and to apply sealing pressure thereto uniformly along the length of said outermost margin whereby said margins are moved into engagement while in substantially parallel relation, and the means for preliminarily bending the side margin of each blank comprising rotatably mounted spiral blades with complementary blank engaging surfaces for imparting a curvature to the one side margin of each blank along the entire length thereof.

3. An apparatus for forming container bodies of generally truncated cone shape from blanks which are cut from relatively thin, flexible sheet material and having adhesive on a side marginal portion thereof which is overlapped with the opposite side marginal portion and pressed so as to provide a lap seam, said apparatus comprising an elongate, cylindrical forming horn disposed in a generally horizontal position, means for feeding successive blanks to the entrance end of said forming horn, an overhead blank feeding and forming conveyor mounted on end supports disposed at opposite ends of said forming horn with the bottom run of the conveyor traveling in a path adjacent the top surface and generally parallel with the long axis of the forming horn, pusher means on said overhead conveyor for engaging the trailing edge of each successive blank as it is advanced to the horn and for pushing said blanks along the top surface of said horn, means on said overhead conveyor adjacent said pusher means for initially shaping each successive blank so that the side margins of the blank depend along the sides of the forming born with the lowermost edges of said side margins generally parallel with the longitudinal axis thereof and the center portion of the blank having a semicircular cross section and inclined upwardly relative to the top surface of said horn and in the direction of advance along said horn, means along the forming horn for activating the adhesive on the blank, means mounted along the forming horn for progressively folding the side margins of the blank against the sides of the forming horn and for bringing said side margins into generally parallel, overlapping relation beneath said horn, and means along the forming horn for engaging the outermost side margin of the blank and applying pressure thereto simultaneously throughout the length thereof so as to bring said side margins into lap seam forming engagement against the bottom of the horn.

4. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 2, and said means for initially shaping each blank comprising a forming member on said overhead conveyor having a concave surface facing outwardly of the path of said overhead conveyor which is inclined upwardly relative to the longitudinal axis of the forming horn when advanced along the top of said forming horn by said conveyor.

5. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 2, and said means for initially shaping each blank comprising a forming member extending from the pusher means which has a concave surface facing outwardly of said conveyor which is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the forming horn and a folding blade rotatably mounted adjacent the entrance end of the forming horn for engaging the blank and seating the same against the concave surface of said forming member.

6. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 2, and said means for initially shaping each blank comprising a forming member on said conveyor which has a longitudinally extending concave face disposed in opposed, and upwardly inclined, relation to the top surface of the forming horn as it is advanced along the same and a pivotally mounted clamp associated with said forming member which is adapted to hold the blank in engagement with said concave face.

7. An apparatus for forming container bodies of generally truncated cone shape from blanks of relatively thin, flexible sheet material having a side marginal portion thereof which is overlapped with the opposite side marginal portion and pressed so as to provide a lap seam, said apparatus comprising an elongate, cylindrical forming horn disposed in a generally horizontal position, means for feeding successive blanks from a supply means and advancing the same to the entrance end of said forming horn as itis advanced along the same so that said veyor having a run thereof traveling in a path immediately above the top surface and generally parallel with the long axis of the forming horn, pusher means for engaging the trailing edge of each successive blank which is advanced to the horn and for pushing said blank along the top surface of said horn at a substantially uniform speed, means for partially shaping each blank comprising a forming member on said conveyor which has a longitudinally extending concave face disposed in opposed and upwardly inclined relation to the top surface of the forming horn as it is advanced along the same so that said blank has a downwardly opening U-shaped cross section with the curved center portion of the leading edge spaced a substantial distance above the top surface of said horn and with the side margins of the blank depending along the sides of said horn in generally parallel relation with the longitudinal axis thereof, means mounted adjacent the opposite sides of the forming horn for progressively folding the side margins of the blank down about the sides of the forming horn and for bringing the side margins into overlapping realtion, and means along the forming horn for engaging the outermost side margin of the blank and applying pressure thereto so as to bring said side margins into lap seam forming engagement against the bottom of the horn, which engaging and pressure applying means is operative to engage the outermost margin at a plurality of longitudinally spaced points and to apply sealing pressure thereto along the length of said outermost margin whereby said margins are moved into engagement while they are in substantially parallel relation and while they are advancing along the forming horn at a uniform rate.

8. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 7 and means for partially shaping the blank comprising also a clamp member movably mounted at the leading end of said concave face and means for moving said clamp member into engagement with the leading 13 end of the blank so as to hold the same in curved condition against said face.

9. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 8 and said clamp member being pivoted on said conveyor and having co-operating cam means for moving the same into and out of clamping position.

10. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 7, and said means for partially shaping each blank comprising a rotatably mounted arm forming member operative to engage the outermost surface of the blank and force the blank against the concave face of said forming member.

11. An apparatus for forming container bodies as recited in claim 10, and said forming member having an associated clamp pivotally mounted at the leading end thereof to hold the blank against the concave face of said forming member.

12. An apparatus for forming container bodies of generally truncated cone shape from blanks of relatively thin, flexible sheet material having a side marginal portion thereof which is overlapped with the opposite side marginal portion and pressed so as to provide a lap seam, said apparatus comprising an elongate, cylindrical forming horn disposed in a generally horizontal position, means for feeding successive blanks from a supply means and advancing the same to the entrance end of said forming horn, an overhead blank feeding and forming conveyor having a run thereof traveling in a path immediately above the top surface and generally parallel with the long axis of the forming horn, pusher means for engaging the trailing edge of each successive blank which is advanced to the horn and for pushing said blank along the top surface of said horn at a substantially uniform speed, means for partially shaping each successive blank so that it has a downwardly opening U-shaped cross section with the curved center portion of the leading edge spaced a. substantial distance above the top surface of said horn and with the side margins of the blank depending along the sides of said horn in generally parallel relation with the longitudinal axis thereof, said means for partially shaping each successive blank comprising a forming block on said conveyor having an outwardly facing concave surface, an arm forming folder member rotatably mounted on said forming born, a pivotally mounted clamp member on said conveyor and means to rotate said folder member and to pivot said clamp member in timed relation to the advance of said conveyor so as to force the blank into engagement With the concave face of said forming block and to clamp the leading end thereof while it advances along said forming horn, means mounted adjacent the opposite sides of the forming horn for progressively folding the side margins of the blank down about the sides of the forming horn and for bringing the side margins into overlapping relation, and means along the forming horn for engaging the outermost side margin of the blank and applying pressure thereto so as to bring said side margins into lap seam forming engagement against the bottom of the horn, which engaging and pressure applying means is operative to engage the outermost margin at a plurality of longitudinally spaced points and to apply sealing pressure thereto along the length of said outermost margin whereby said margins are moved into engagement while they are in substantially parallel relation and while they are advancing along the forming horn at a uniform rate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,642,784 6/1953 Wittkuhns 93-393 2,642,785 6/1953 Wittkuhns 93-365 2,674,929 4/ 1954 Wittkuhns 93-94 2,719,466 10/ 1955 Wittkuhns 93-79 3,338,142 8/ 1967 Simpson 93-82 3,045,563 7/1962 Russo 93-82 3,139,012 6/1964 Senfleben 93-82 3,360,843 1/1968 Pearson 93-94 FOREIGN PATENTS 541,546 12/ 1941 Great Britain.

WAYNE A. MORSE, 111., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent NO. 3,463,060 August 26, 1969 Charles J. Chebuhar It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 5 line 66 cancel "Succesive" and insert Successi Column 6, line 10, "bace" should read base Column 10, line 75, "wtih" should read with Column 12, line 38, after "horn" insert an overhead blank feeding and forming conline 38, cancel "as itis advanced along the same so that said". Column 12, line 59, "realtion" should read relation Signed and sealed this 19th day of May 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Commissioner of Patents Edward M: Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer 

